Fledgling
by bkwrmfisch
Summary: Harry Potter wakes up on his 18th birthday to find out he has become a vampire. The only two people who know are Dumbledore and Snape. How will Harry function in a school that has no secrets? How will his friends react? Possible slash (undecided), AU (details inside)


The Boy-Who-Lived sat straight up in bed on his 18th birthday. He was covered in sweat and his entire body ached as if he had been doing hard labor all day. In fact, he had. Aunt Petunia had had him doing menial tasks all day, but this type of ache was different. He could feel his muscles spasm and his veins squirming around. A headache throbbed behind his eyes and his spine cracked when he arched from the sharp pain in his chest.

He cried out in agony, tears of blood running down his cheeks, soaking into the pillow. Seconds later, the locks on his door rattled and the mousey face of Aunt Petunia appeared in the doorway. "Boy, what have we told you about waking us up during one of your nightmares? I swear—," she paused when she saw the blood, and then screamed. "Vernon! Vernon, come quickly! Something's wrong with the boy!"

The obscenely overweight Vernon waddled into the room, his red with anger face going pale at the sight of the seizing boy. When all movement on the bed stopped, he approached cautiously, took two sausage-like fingers, and placed them at the pulse-point in the boy's neck. After a moment, he removed them and looked at his wife.

"He's dead," Vernon whispered. "I'll call an ambulance."

"Wait," Petunia said. "If we call the authorities, there will be questions. We never officially adopted him. I think _those_ people should have to deal with the body."

"Well, how do you propose we contact them, Petunia? We can't wait until they come looking for him. That'll be another month."

Petunia looked over on the boy's desk, where the Snow Owl was covered up. She was still unaware that her master was dead. Petunia quickly wrote a note before carrying the whole cage out of the room so the familiar wouldn't see the corpse of her human. She opened the cage door and said, "Harry needs you to take this to Hogwarts. As fast as you can."

Hedwig was a little suspicious. In the seven years she had been with her master, she had never been addressed by the other humans who lived there. Eventually, her intelligent raptor brain reasoned that her human must be in trouble and listened to the woman who handed her a small piece of paper rolled up. The magic Hedwig possessed told her the letter was supposed to go to the Headmaster, even if it wasn't addressed to him.

Petunia opened the back door and allowed the white bird to fly out, knowing from experience that the bird would be swift and the problem would be taken care of no later than tomorrow.

Albus Dumbledore had just entered his office after a discussion with Professor Flitwick about new safety measures when Harry Potter's owl flew in through the open window. She flew above him and then dropped the rolled up piece of parchment she had grasped in her talons. Albus caught it easily, and unrolled it as he walked back to his desk. What he read forced him to sit down.

_Harry Potter is dead. Please collect his body ASAP._

With tears in the blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, Albus reached for his wand. He placed the end of it under his long, white beard and uttered a voice enhancement charm; one that was loud enough to be heard throughout the castle. "Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Hagrid, please report to my office immediately."

Vernon and Petunia waited impatiently for the boy's friends to arrive. Petunia assured Vernon that the letter had most likely been delivered. She had woken Dudley, their son, who was just as obese as Vernon and twice as spoiled. He had not been pleased at being forced to get up at three in the morning.

They looked up as the ash left over in the fireplace suddenly caught ablaze with green flame. First to emerge was an elderly wizard wearing star-covered robes and a pointed wizard's hat. He had straight, long, white hair, and a beard to match it. His light, blue eyes were hidden behind half-moon spectacles. There were laugh-lines around his mouth, but he wasn't smiling right now.

Just moments after he arrived, a second male wizard came through the fireplace. This one frightened the Dursleys. His shoulder-length, straight black hair framed a pale face. His black eyes seemed to pierce straight through them. He wore nothing but black robes. The only skin showing was his hands and his face. Black boots covered his feet.

The older wizard spoke first. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, I am Albus Dumbledore. I am Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is Potions Master Professor Severus Snape. Would you be so kind as to tell me what is going on?"

Vernon was glaring at the strange duo so Petunia took point. "The boy's been having a lot of nightmares recently. He woke up screaming at midnight. I unlocked the door and saw him writhing on the bed, crying blood. I called for Vernon who felt for a pulse. There wasn't one. I used the boy's owl to send you a message."

The wizards were shocked. "May we see him please?"

Petunia nodded. "Upstairs, last door on the left."

Albus led the way to Harry's room. Not sure what to expect, he drew his wand, and motioned for Severus to do the same. They were most certainly not prepared for what they saw.

Harry Potter was lying in his twin-sized bed surrounded by blood-soaked sheets. His fingernails had grown into long, black talons. The tips of his ears had become pointed. He had gained muscle; he no longer looked like a sickly teenager. What shocked the two wizards though were the long, white fangs that hung over his bottom lip.

Albus cleared his throat. "Severus? Did you know that Mr. Potter was a vampire?"

"No, Headmaster."

"Severus, you're familiar with most magical creatures. What do fledgling vampires need?"

"Wouldn't Hagrid be better able to answer that question?" Snape asked.

"NO!" Albus cried. "The less people who know of Harry's condition the better. Unregistered vampires are executed and registered vampires are persecuted. Harry would not be able to play Quidditch, most likely never get a job, never be approved for a mortgage, am I making my point?"

"Very well. Fledglings need a steady supply of blood for a while—from weeks to months depending on the fledge—so either multiple donors or a blood supply will be required. Sensitivity to the sun can be fixed with a potion. It's similar to wolfsbane so I can brew it with Remus's. The fangs and talons are retractable. Unfortunately, his nails will always be black, but that can either be concealed with a glamour or he can say he likes black nail polish."

They heard footsteps behind them. "So, you will be taking him, right? We cannot have the neighbors gossiping about a dead body taken from our house," Vernon said.

Albus nodded. "Yes, we'll be taking him. Severus, if you could carry Mr. Potter back to the fireplace, we'll take him back to Hogwarts with us."

When Snape lifted Harry, he could see the fledgling's eyes open just a crack. He was waking up. "We need to hurry, Albus, we have people waiting for us." Harry opened his mouth a little in a small yawn.

The two wizards quickly flooed back to Hogwarts where the only people waiting for them was Fawkes, Albus's phoenix and Hedwig. Severus laid Harry down on the sofa and then turned to Albus. "He needs to feed, and soon." He turned back to Harry. "Potter, can you hear me?"

Harry opened his eyes a crack. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Snape?"

"Potter, whatever happens in the next few minutes, you must not bite down. Do you understand?"

"No biting," he murmured, not really sure what the professor meant, but willing to do anything to go back to sleep again.

Snape reached into his pocket and pulled out a small multi-tool. He extended the knife and slit a rather large cut on his forearm before placing his arm on Harry's mouth. He could feel himself bleeding, but none of the blood escaped the vacuum that Harry's mouth had become. The fledgling was getting his first taste of blood and he was enjoying it.

Eventually, Snape had to tug his arm away. He was getting a little light-headed. Harry let go and then dozed right off.

Snape looked at Albus. "He'll finish his transition now."


End file.
